


would you mind

by angryboywonder



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 08:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18913369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryboywonder/pseuds/angryboywonder
Summary: Haruka always thought that there was something appealing and mysterious about his swim instructor.





	would you mind

Haruka always thought that there was something appealing and mysterious about his swim instructor. As much time as they spend together in their private lessons, he doesn’t know as much about him as he’d like. They keep it strictly on swimming but the young man wishes he knew more about what his instructor was like behind the scenes. What does he do in his spare time, what’s his favorite food, favorite time of the day, what type of weather does he prefer? He often finds himself trying to guess. His favorite food must be a noodle dish, as he sees him eating those most of the time, and he must prefer the weather being warm as that’s when swimming is most suitable… but it doesn’t feel realistic for him to be guessing like this. He doesn’t even know how old he is! 

 

As much as Haruka wonders, he doesn’t actually engage in these curiosities of his. He swims, lets himself go, and corrects himself where his instructor orders. He thinks of it more as a wild dream than anything, because he knows after the next big competition, this guy might leave him. It’s not like when he was in high school and had more of a formal swim coach. This is some guy from college who saw potential in him and has no other students to guide. 

 

When they’re at lunch, Haruka finds the older man on his phone quite often, but he seems to be more agitated as the contraption vibrates in his hand. Who is it? A friend, a wife, a boss? If the younger man had more courage, he’d ask. 

 

It’s one Tuesday, during the week, after Haruka had finished all of his classes for the day and got some practice in with the older man. They come outside to find that it’s raining and Haruka can’t for the life of him find his jacket. “You’re going to catch a cold if you go home like that.” 

 

The younger man glances at him, huffing a sigh. “I jog in the rain all the time. I swim outside during the winter. What’s the difference?” He’s not lying, either. When he was younger, him and Rin would race each other after school in the rain, and they still do it quite often when they see each other. If anything, they’ve both built an immunity to the cold. 

 

“Let me drive you back?” 

 

Haruka could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. Is this the moment he’s been waiting for, though? “I don’t know… I would hate to make you go out of the way.” He slaps his locker shut, throwing his backpack over his shoulders. 

 

“What if you get sick and can’t compete?” 

 

Haruka nods, giving up the debate right there and he follows his instructor out into the parking lot. The older man keeps trying to hold a magazine over Haruka’s head to at least brace him from the rain, but that’s not in the least bit successful as Haruka keeps leaning away. 

 

It’s when they’re on the road that he realizes he doesn’t have his apartment key. He checks every pocket in his backpack, yet it’s not there. “I think I lost my key.” 

 

“You  _ think?”  _

 

“It’s not here.” 

 

“Then where is it?” 

 

Haruka looks at the older man with the dullest expression he has. If he absolutely knew where his key was, he wouldn’t be so frazzled right now. Although, he doesn’t appear exactly  _ frazzled  _ on the outside. 

 

“Right, sorry.” Azuma mutters, and he suddenly switches lanes, going in a direction that’s definitely not heading towards Haruka’s apartment. “Guess you’re with me tonight.” 

 

The younger man nods, holding his backpack close to his chest. He looks out the window and focuses more on the rain as it’s falling harder and quicker on the pavement. He’s  _ shy _ right now, but that’s an emotion he thinks he feels quite often when he’s around Coach Azuma. 

 

They eventually arrive to a high rise apartment complex, on the other side of town, that looks far fancier than the dorm style living that Haruka is used to. Once inside, it looks much… lonelier than expected. 

 

“Tomorrow we can figure out the key situation.” He announces, heading to the kitchen to pour a glass of liquor. He offers it to his student, to which its declined. 

 

Haruka has tried alcohol before, though he doesn’t necessarily enjoy it. He also doesn’t want to see what confident decisions he’d make with it. 

 

For dinner, they have food delivered. They both get some type of stir fried noodles and it leaves Haruka wondering once again exactly what type of food is this man’s favorite. There’s teriyaki chicken and thick noodles in a stir fry and maybe that’s a dish the older man prefers. He has a slight bit more scruff on his face than usual so maybe he’s going through something at the moment that Haruka doesn’t know about. Or maybe his instructor just doesn’t feel like shaving his face. 

 

His phone goes off on the table in front of them but he ignores it. “Why don’t you answer your phone?” Haruka asks, as he sits cross legged on the floor. 

 

“Because I don’t want to.” 

 

Haruka nods, slurping at his noodles to not engage anymore into the conversation. Later on, when it’s time to wind down, Azuma walks into the living room area with some heavy blankets and a set of pajamas. The pajamas are really just an oversized t-shirt and some shorts, but his student is still so thankful. 

 

“Thank you.” Haruka accepted the items and changed his clothes before he made a bed for himself in the living room. He caught the older man passing through the hall, turning off all the lights and Haruka quickly stood up. “Coach Azuma, why don’t we ever talk?” 

 

“We talk all the time.” The man raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms from where he stands. 

 

“No, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant… I mean, I don’t know much about you and we mostly conversate during my lessons.” 

 

“We don’t have to.” Haruka watches Azuma shrug, and then the man is gone into his room. This leaves sort of a sour taste in his mouth but he doesn’t push it any further and then he allows himself to go to sleep. 

 

Although, he doesn’t sleep. He tosses and turns on the floor amongst all of his blankets and lets himself be frustrated over the fact that his instructor is so stubborn and closed off. This might actually be what makes them so similar. At times, Haruka hears from his friends that he needs to open up more, or be more vocal. He speaks more with his actions rather than words though it’s the best way that he can express himself. 

 

At around two in the morning is when he gets up to use the bathroom. He tries to be as quiet as possible, however he finds himself walking straight into Azuma as he’s leaving the room and almost outwardly gasps. His breath gets caught in his throat. “Sorry.” He stutters, bowing his head momentarily. 

 

The both of them don’t actually say anything more. They exchange a couple glances, Haruka pads back and forth on the balls of his feet, and Azuma clears his throat while leaning against the doorway. And then it’s when he’s about to open his mouth and say something that the younger man is on his toes and grabbing onto both sides of Azuma’s face to smash their lips together. If it wasn’t for them being in the hallway, they might’ve both fallen down. Luckily the swim coach is caught falling against the wall, hands landing on Haruka’s hips as it takes him a second to respond to the kiss. He doesn’t reject the kiss, he moves his own lips against Haruka’s in an experimental manner - as if he’s unsure of the action, but Haruka knows he wants it just as much as him. 

 

Haruka’s hands travel desperately over the older man’s body, from grabbing at his shirt, over his shoulders, around his back, and even his fingers lacing through his curly hair. 

 

Before they could get any further, Azuma is breaking the kiss with a gasp to catch his breath. He wipes his mouth, looking away as his hand is covering half his face. “You should go back to bed, you have work to do in the morning.” He mutters, heading down the hall to his room. 

 

“Wait - coach Azuma!” Haruka finds himself reaching out again, face red. “Can I sleep in your bed? With you?” He has to tell himself… if he had the courage to kiss his superior, he has to have the confidence to continue getting closer to him. 

 

Azuma stops where he stands, scratching the back of his head. “Just this once.” 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys like this! i finished season 3 of free! and just fell in love with these two as a ship UGH i love it
> 
> don't forget i have a tumblr! (:
> 
> https://angryboywonder.tumblr.com/


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